"What's driving me to drink isn't anger and isn't the dandies. It's this society -- our Korean society -- that drives me to drink."
Life in Korea during its colonization by Japan from 1910 to 1945 was influenced by the twin forces of oppression and enlightenment. The 16 stories in this collection are useful as a record of this period and as an introduction to the cream of modern Korean writers. For all but two of the stories, this is their first translation into English.
Many young Koreans traveled to Japan during the colonization period in order to pursue higher education. This increased their exposure not only to the world outside Korea, but also to forms of literature unavailable in Korea. Accordingly, many of the writers in this collection were influenced by the Western literature that was made accessible to them in Japanese translation.